Top 10 robotic stories of June 2023

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Between new applications for large language models (LLMs) in robotics, to big acquisitions, there was no shortage of robotics news to cover this month. 

Here are the top 10 most popular stories on The Robot Report in June 2023. Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about.

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10. SoftBank makes offer to acquire Balyo shares

Balyo, a robotics company with nearly 18 years of experience in the industry, could soon find itself under new ownership. SoftBank Group has entered into an agreement to acquire a 41.8% stake in the company for €11.8 million, around $12.9 million. Read More

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9. IAM Robotics pivot teaches valuable lessons

I recently reported on IAM Robotics launching an automated solution designed for person-to-goods (P2G) warehouse workflow. The company is entering a new chapter focused on the hottest segment of autonomous mobile robot (AMR) applications and one that has already been proven through the efforts of companies like Locus Robotics and 6 River Systems. Read More

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8. What does ChatGPT mean for robotics?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a much more natural interaction with robots? Well, maybe now we have a technology that can help us reach that goal. Or at least that was my initial thought before researching this article. That’s why the positive section came first, but it’s actually the negative section that throws up the most interesting aspects of this new technology and the potential issues it faces, both technically and commercially. Read More

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7. Robotics investments top $1.63B in April 2023

Robotics investments totaled $1.63 billion in April 2023 as a result of 47 investments. The April investments bring the 2023 robotics funding total to approximately $3.3 billion. Investments totaled $526 million in March 2023, $620 million in February 2023 and $521 million in January 2023. Read More

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6. evoBOT completes first tests at Munich Airport

evoBOT, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, completed its first test run at the Munich Airport. With its unique design consisting of two wheels and gripper arms, evoBOT keeps itself balanced while performing a range of tasks. Read More

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5. Tertill, maker of home weeding robot, merges with Harvest Automation

Tertill, the developer of a solar-powered weeding robot for home gardens, has merged with Harvest Automation, an agrobotics-focused company best known for its plant-moving HV100 robots. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read More

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4. Tesla acquiring wireless charging developer Wiferion

Tesla has plans to acquire Wiferion, a source who wished to remain anonymous told The Robot Report. The source told The Robot Report that Tesla is interested in Wiferion’s R&D team and capabilities and that existing business at Wiferion will likely go on as usual. Read More

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3. Food robotics startup Karakuri shutting down

Karakuri, a startup that uses robots to assemble ready meals for food industry clients, is closing down. Founder and CEO Barney Wragg made the announcement in a LinkedIn post. The company offers its FRYR family of automated fry lines that control time, temperature, and quantity when frying foods. Read More

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2. Ukrainian tractor automation company develops homegrown demining solution

The Ukrainian Efarm.Pro company developed an unmanned solution for demining farm fields ahead of the upcoming planting season. Efarm.Pro is a manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, precision farming systems and has been integrating the latest technologies in the agricultural sector since 2014. Read More

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1. Researchers use ChatGPT to make a tomato-picking robot

A team of researchers at the Technical University in Delft, Netherlands and the Swiss technical university EPFL used ChatGPT to help them develop a tomato-picking robot. A study about the development of the robot was recently published in Nature Machine Intelligence. Read More